'I'd never before found the taste of murder to be so flavourful...'

The Whitest Smoke Signal

Thanatos' portal opened up in an empty hospital room.

I was quick to pat down my hair and dress as I raced towards the door, Thanatos hot on my heels. I grabbed the knob and twisted, but the sudden flash of black leather caught my eyes. I pushed Thanatos back; "You can't go out there like this."

He looked down at his armour and cloak- it was almost comical in the bright light of the hospital room. He looked completely out of place, like he was the reason hospitals existed in the first place. Which isn't too far-fetched...

Quickly a dark cloud of smoke overtook his body, leaving me slightly chocking as I tried to wave back the dense fog. In an instant, Thanatos' sinister leather armour was replaced with ordinary human attire- a dark pair of jeans, boots, a burgundy shirt and black, leather jacket. He looked far too good for any normal university student, and he might cause a few more heart attacks on our way to the emergency area, but at least he didn't look like the Grim Reaper anymore.

"Better?"

I nodded slightly dazed, either from the fog travelling up to my brain or the way those jeans hugged his muscled legs. Not too tight, but fitting enough to appreciate every inch of him. I cleared my throat.

Friend in trouble here- focus.

"Let's go."

We rushed out of the room, receiving some disgusted looks from a group of passing nurses who probably thought we were using the empty room for private CPR lessons, and hastily made our way down the long corridors towards the emergency area's waiting room. Luckily there were signs everywhere instructing us exactly where to turn, otherwise we might've ended up in the cafeteria by now. Every corridor looked exactly the same- white, bright and terrifying.

I nearly rammed into another nurse as I stormed up to the receptionist's desk. Her eyes widened; "Can I help you, ma'am?"

"Sonya Harrods? Is she alright?"

The nurse nodded quickly and reached for some papers as Thanatos' hand found my back and began to stroke up and down in reassurance; "Miss Harrods is in surgery. She'll be out in about twenty to thirty minutes. I'd advise you to take a seat-"

"Aurora!"

I turned my head at the familiar voice. Trita stood at the other end of the waiting area, her make-up smudged and her bangs pinned up and out of her face. She looked physically ill.

I raced towards her, ignoring the receptionist, and swung my arms around her cold body. Thanatos followed, but stayed back a bit and watched. Trita gasped; "How? How are you here?"

"Trita, what happened?" I ignored her question, but she was adamant.

"Aurora," She leaned in and pulled my closer so no one else could hear; "What the fuck are you doing here? How did you get here so fast? It's been like three minutes since I phoned you."

I sighed and glanced around. I pulled her with me as I sat us down in the farthest corner, away from prying ears and eyes. Thanatos joined us, but didn't yet speak. The ugly pink couches were hard and lumpy. Trita gripped my hands; "What's going on, Aurora?"

It was barely a whisper, but I could hear the strain in her voice. The time for lying was finally over.

I glanced back at Thanatos next to me. His golden camouflaged eyes were sharp and calculating as they bore into mine. He merely stared, not bothering to restrain me- if I wanted to tell her the truth, it was my choice. But there were risks involved; I knew that...

Thanatos didn't have to say a thing; his intense gaze was more than enough.

I sighed and looked down to my lap. My dress almost matched the colour of the couch. I wanted to cringe.

"I have some things I need to tell you both..."

Thanatos lowered his eyes and nodded to himself- he knew then that I'd made the hard decision to involve them. It wasn't going to be easy, but I'd rather be able to protect them with the truth than another lie.

Trita furrowed her brows; "What is it?"

"First, please tell me what happened and I promise you I will tell you everything as soon as Sonya is okay. Promise."

Trita examined me with sad and tired eyes. She nodded slowly; "Okay." I saw a tear prick at the corner of her eye and quickly enclosed her in a tight hug.

"Shh... It's okay. The nurse said that Sonya's going to be fine. It's just a small stab to the stomach; she'll be more than fine in a few weeks."

"I know, it's just..." Trita sobbed into my chest, her body quaking; "I was so scared! It happened so fast and- and Sonya... Oh, shit! I warned her something was wrong!"

I gulped, but before I had the chance to muster up some soothing words from my equally dry throat, Thanatos stood up and sat back down behind Trita. He quickly placed his hand on her back and relaxingly started to rub her shoulder. His voice was soft and reassuring, like a father's; "It's alright, dear. You're just in shock."

I was momentarily shocked myself- he really was perfect wasn't he? Was he doing this for me? I had the feeling the answer was 'yes', because his eyes found mine and his hand quickly squeezed ours together.

I smiled at him.

Trita nodded and tried to joke through tears; "Oh, hey, Thane..."

"Can I get you some sugar water for the shock?"

Trita and I nodded and he quickly stood up to go fetch her something to calm her nerves. I watched him leave. Why I ever thought he wasn't capable of love was beyond me.

"Please tell me you two are together?"

I laughed and squeezed her closer; "We are, yes."

"Good, otherwise I'm chasing after that ass."

"I'd break your legs, bitch."

We laughed, both our eyes filling with unshed tears. Trita took my hands in hers; "I missed you. I really wish you weren't in Italy all year round."

"Me too." I caressed the back of her hand with my thumb; "Trita, I know you might not want to think about it, but please- tell me what happened?"

The green-eyed girl gulped and nodded slowly, her inner-strength building up faster now that I was here to comfort her. She still looked like a mess.

Trita swallowed and lifted her eyes to mine; "We were at a party. It was some campus event with drinks and a live band and all that shit. We sort of left early because it was getting too rowdy and we still have class tomorrow. We..."

Trita shook her head; "We shouldn't have walked out alone, in the dark. It was stupid."

"Someone attacked you?"

"Yeah..." She licked her lips, her voice almost inaudible; "We um... We were almost home when this thing come out of the bushes and just fucking yelled! It was... It was horrible!"

I gritted my teeth.

Thing? That's not a good sign.

"Sonya tried to reason with it, but the guy- or woman, or whatever it was just didn't want to listen. It was screaming in some strange language and it kept waving its arms around. I kept tugging her away, but Sonya didn't want us to turn our back to it."

Trita scoffed; "Not that it mattered much. Suddenly it had a knife and the next thing I knew, Sonya was on the ground bleeding and the fucking prick had ran away!"

No need for Thanatos to torture Hermes- I'd gladly do it myself.

Rage filled my body and I suddenly saw red as Trita looked up and shrugged; "I was a mess. My hands, my clothes..." She looked down and I could make out the blood stains on her navy top. "Sonya was so pale... I've never seen her so..."

"Shh... It's okay." I embraced her just as a tear fell from her cheek.

Thanatos returned with two foam cups filled with water and dissolved sugar. "Drink this." He handed one to Trita and the other he placed in my hand as he grabbed a chair and sat down beside us. Trita drank the water slowly, savouring the sweet aftertaste.

I held the cup in my hand and tried to regulate my breathing; fury still filling me up until I felt like I might burn through the foam cup with my palms. Thanatos ran a hand down my arm and gave me a pointed look. I clenched my jaw- this wasn't the right time to let my anger rule.

"Tell me, please."

Thanatos and I shared a look as Trita's eyes searched ours. She spoke again, her voice low; "What's going on? Why are you in Ashbridge?"

My nails dug into the foam cup.

Now or later?

Or never?

Later.

"Let's just wait until Sonya's with us, okay?"

Trita gulped as she eyed us. I could see it then- in her eyes. Her natural instinct to run away from Thanatos was kicking in.

Danger was closer than she thought...

But it wasn't him.

About twenty more minutes passed before a young doctor wearing a cloth mask came walking up to us, his eyes bright and his smile soft. Thanatos was the first to stand and address him; "Doctor."

The young man automatically directed his words to Thanatos, his figure clearly the alpha in the room; "Miss Harrods' family?"

"Friends." Thanatos said impatiently.

"Well, she's fine. You have nothing to worry about." I felt a huge and heavy boulder drop from my shoulders as he spoke. Trita leaned into me, her relief knee-numbing. "Miss Harrods will make a full recovery in about two weeks time. The stab wound was large, but shallow, and no vital organs were hit. She did lose quite some blood, so she may be a bit weak for now, but she'll be fine by tomorrow. Just make sure she stays hydrated."

"How long before she'll be discharged?"

The doctor was taken a bit back by my sudden question; "Uh, about three or four days."

"Thank you, doctor." Thanatos said as he dismissed the surgeon. The doctor nodded and pretended not to be too intimidated by Thanatos' large figure.

"She's in room 34 if you'd like to see her." The young doctor left in a hurry.

Trita blew out a shaky breath; "Okay, let's go. She must be worried."

Thanatos and I nodded and followed behind Trita as she swiftly walked towards the area where it said 'Rooms 20-40'. The light was too bright for Thanatos and he kept his head down. I directed him where to go with my hand locked onto his.

Trita found the door handle with her shaky hand and twisted it open. Our eyes met Sonya's from across the room. She was even paler than usual. Trita and I rushed forward, tears springing to our eyes. Sonya chuckled softly; "Slowly, slowly! It hurts to move..."

Trita whimpered into her shoulder; "I'm so sorry, Sonya! I'm so sorry!"

"Shhh..." The platinum blonde murmured; "It's not your fault."

"Are you okay?" I asked as I stroked her hair and rubbed her cheek with my thumb. Sonya shook her head, tears coming to her lemon-coloured eyes; "What are you doing here?"

I laughed; "You didn't think I'd let you get stabbed without me?"

She laughed, her eyes still glinting with the ease of painkillers; "I love you guys."

"Love you too." Trita and I both said in usion. We hugged Sonya, careful not to press too hard.

"Oh!" Sonya's eyes widened at the figure behind me. "Thane?"

Thanatos smiled down at her with kind eyes- he really was trained as the perfect older brother. "I'd hoped our next meeting would've been in better circumstances."

"You can say that again." Sonya said dryly and smiled up at him; "Thanks for coming with."

"Of course, dear." He sounded like he genuinely meant it. It warmed my heart. "We're just glad you're alright."

We all nodded and Sonya blushed softly as she looked down. "Where are my parents?"

Trita smiled with concern; "They just phoned about five minutes ago. They were on their way into town. They'll probably be here in a few minutes."

"They must be so worried." Sonya leaned back into the huge pillow. I fluffed it for her.

"Can I get you something to eat?" I asked as I poured her a glass of room temperature water from the jug on her bedside table. Sonya nodded, "Please, I'm starving."

"What would you like?" I handed her the cup.

"Chocolate."

We laughed, filling the room with some light. If there was one thing that could always cheer Sonya up it was chocolate. I squeezed her hand and gave Thanatos a look to follow me.

"We'll be right back."

Trita and Sonya nodded and watched us leave with curious eyes. I didn't bother to pull my hand away as Thanatos reached for it. I let him hold my shaky hand as we walked down the corridor. His voice was hard; "I swear to you, I'll kill them all."

"Not if I get to them first." My voice was unrecognisable. I'd never before found the taste of murder to be so flavourful. It was sharp and left my senses heightened.

If ever you wanted to see what two equally driven and rage-filled people looked like, it was the two of us, walking down the corridor towards the cafeteria, hand in hand. Some nurses ducked out of our way, some just stared as we passed.

I'd like to say it was because we made a striking couple, but I had the feeling it was a combination of beauty and a stare that could set you on fire. Quite literally.

The cafeteria was empty, unsurprising since it was already eleven at night. The hall was large and the windows were slightly open, letting in a crisp wind from outside. The trees rustled with cold air, but my body still felt hot. I was livid to my core.

I grabbed a slab of milk chocolate- Sonya's favourite- and turned to Thanatos. His eyes were full of worry; "You're pale."

"I'm scared." It was easy enough to say; "And nervous."

"Are you going to tell them?"

I swallowed hard. Suddenly, his hand that was holding mine moved and I let him drag me towards two chairs in the dark corner of the large hall. The cashier was too busy paging through a magazine to notice us. Thanatos sat me down and locked his deep eyes onto mine.

His voice was low, so no one could hear our conversation; "Tell me what you're thinking, angel."

I scooted closer to him, his warmth comforting; "I want to tell them. All of it. Everything."

Thanatos' eyes grew serious and suddenly that infamous mask was up. I knew it well by now; "Are you going to try and talk me out of it?" He didn't respond at first.

Thanatos looked down at our hands; a small smile crawled up to his lips, but never reached his eyes; "I know it would be fairly useless..." He caressed my hands; "You're far too stubborn."

I smiled. It was beautiful how only he could make me laugh even when I felt like burning the world to a crisp.

"I want them to know about everything so I can protect them better. This lying game isn't working anymore- the stakes are too high."

He nodded mechanically; "I understand, just know that if you tell them, you're opening them up to more risks than before."

"But this time they'll be prepared. And I can keep them safe."

Thanatos bit his lips and I could see his mind work as he looked into my eyes- almost through them. I waited for him to speak. "This is my fault. I put my best reapers to work protecting them and still one of Sybaris' children managed to break through. This never should've happened."

I leaned in to press my lips against his; the taste more fulfilling than anything on earth; "Thanatos, you have nothing to blame yourself for."

He sighed into my open mouth; "Barrios should've alerted me. Why hasn't he called yet?"

Barrios is Thanatos' best reaper and his most talented pupil. I'd never met him before, but I'd heard stories of how talented he is in doing his work- Thanatos was more than happy to leave the safety of the girls in his hands. My parents' security was handled by another trusted reaper by the name of Zaul. Zaul is older and sterner than what Barrios is apparently. I'd met Zaul before, a few weeks ago when he'd come to give Thanatos his weekly report. His black cloak was just as impressive as his thick beard and moustache- he looked like a typical mercenary, only wiser; and deadlier.

Reapers weren't things I'd like to mess with.

They were Thanatos' personal army; who knew how many of them there were. Thanatos had explained to me that they were all once men who'd died and were in turn given the opportunity to rather serve death than live under it. Most of these men jumped at the chance.

Thanatos was known to be the best commander- even better than Hades.

It occurred to me a few months ago that Hades was merely the face of the Underworld; the real ruler and the person who kept everything running smoothly was sitting right in front of me, his red eyes calculating and resolute; "I should summon him. Maybe something happened."

"Before you do that-" I pulled him closer before he had the chance to shoot up and call on his reaper; "I need to know if you'll support my decision. Or not."

Thanatos grabbed my hand in his, his eyes on mine. He lifted my hand to his lips and kissed my fingers, one by one. His warmth swept through my body like a tidal wave.

"Aurora, whatever you decide, I will be right beside you, always. These are your friends, and you're mine. I will do whatever it takes to keep them from harm's way."

I smiled, tears pricking at my eyes; "Thank you."

"Once you tell them, I can make them forget again, you know that right?"

"I don't want them to forget. I want them to know."

Thanatos nodded; "Then you realise they can't stay here- in Ashbridge. The risk is higher."

I nodded; "What are you saying?"

I think I knew what he meant, but I didn't want to be forward. If Thanatos said it, then I knew he was alright with the idea. I'd just hoped that he wasn't doing this just because he felt guilty, but I could see there was conviction in his eyes. He was determined to put an end to the killing- the killing that wasn't ordered by him.

"If you tell them, perhaps it's best if they joined you in the Underworld until all of this has blown over."

I wanted to crying relief. I smiled at him, my eyes filled with gratitude; "Thank you, darling."

He kissed my cheek; "Of course, my love. Anything for you. Your friends are important. And I would hate to see any harm come to them."

"How soon?"

"As soon as you can. I'll sort out their university things and deal with their parents, You just make sure they don't have a heart attack when you tell them."

I nodded. "I'll do it tomorrow- when Sonya's better."

"You know I have the best doctors in my palace," Thanatos gave me a serious look," They'll be able to take care of her much better, you have no need to risk injury for too long. The more they're out in the open, the higher the risk."

"I know, but first I need to ease them into it all. As quickly as I can."

Thanatos kissed my cheek one more time before he stood up and passed me a black bank card. I looked up at him in question; "Pay for the chocolate and get yourself and Trita something to eat. You both need the energy."

"I love you."

"I love you too, now go to them. I'm going to try and contact Barrios."

I hugged him, the thought of him leaving me for a few minutes painful. I hadn't even realised how attached we'd gotten. It was both thrilling and scary. I'd never be Aurora again- now it was Aurora and Thanatos, but I rather liked that. I think I actually preferred it.

We were a team.

Thanatos turned to leave, but my wary voice stopped him; "Do you think I'm selfish for pulling them in? Do you think I should just let them live their lives not knowing anything?"

Thanatos turned to me, his dark eyes honest and clear. I valued his opinion the most and was reassured to hear him say with a steady voice; "If I were in your situation, and you were in danger without knowing it, I would rather arm you with the truth than shroud you in more lies."